President of the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA), K Juman-Yassin is urging Guyana’s delegation to be great ambassadors during the inaugural Junior Pan American Games which will be staged in Cali, Colombia, from November 25 to December 5.
Juman-Yassin made the charge during a press briefing which was held yesterday at the GOA’s headquarters in Liliendaal as the contingent prepares to embark on a historic journey, one that could potentially shape the athletes’ budding careers.
“You are representing Guyana, and I ask you wherever you go, ensure you conduct yourself in a way that would not be disrespectful to the society of Colombia, and would be as respectful as we would want it in Guyana,” Juman-Yassin urged the athletes and officials.
The long-serving head of the GOA also cautioned the athletes about what they consume, noting that they have a proud Guyanese tradition to upkeep.
“Careful what you drink and what you eat because you can be selected to have a doping test,” the GOA head highlighted.
“We’ve never had anybody who has gone to represent Guyana abroad who has fallen foul of the anti-doping laws… and I don’t expect there would be a first here.”
Team Guyana will be represented in seven disciplines during the multi-sport event geared towards creating pathways to higher performances. The fixture will cater to athletes aged 17 to 22 competing in over 25 disciplines. Approximately 3,500 of the world’s next generation of athletes are set to converge on the South American nation.
“The Pan American Games are the most important multi-sport event in America. They have been held every four years since 1957 and Cali hosted the VI version of them in 1971. The Junior version was born from these Games and will be held for the first time in 2021 in Cali and Valle del Cauca,” Pan Am Sports said.
“The objective of this dream is to promote the new generations of athletes, as well as to make new talents visible and support the development of sports in the junior categories through their participation in high level events.”
With the realisation of these Games, Pan Am Sports seeks to make sports transitional; to create a link of social action between sports, culture, and citizen education, demonstrating what youth is capable of when setting a goal.
Guyana’s delegation would be led by Chef-de-Mission Deirdre Edghill, and importantly has a physiotherapist, Jana Edghill, onboard. Juman-Yassin indicated that the role of the physiotherapist is to ensure the Guyana contingent is in compliance with all the COVID-19 related protocols at the Games.
Treasurer of the body, Garfield Wiltshire, pointed out that Eureka Labs has provided the PCR tests for the entire Guyana contingent free of charge, like it did for the country’s delegation at the Tokyo Olympic Games earlier this year.
Notably, this contingent is bigger than the one that travelled to Tokyo. “As you know these tests are not cheap, and they [Eureka Labs] have again come forward and provided these tests free of charge. We would like to express our appreciation to them for offering this service to us,” Wiltshire said.
